2009年9月29日星期二

Calan - Bling (2009) @160Kbps



Calan bring together the remarkable talents of 5 young musicians giving a fresh and ‘cool’ sound to traditional Welsh music. With their contemporary and lively approach they breathe new life into the old traditions. Sparkling melodies, foot tapping tunes and a spirited and energetic performance of Welsh step dancing. They blast their way through some of the old favourite reels, jigs and hornpipes with fast paced and uplifting arrangements before melting into some of the most beautiful and haunting songs.

Four of the members met up in Sweden in 2005 while taking part in Trac’s Wales-Sweden exchange programme, visiting the Ethno summer school. They are all in their teens and early twenties, and come from different parts of Wales – the Lleyn Peninsula, Swansea, Bryn Mawr, Newport and Bangor.

Patrick Rimes - Fiddle, pipes and whistle – twice junior Celtic fiddle champion he is a multi instrumentalist who’s been called the rising fiddle star in Wales

Bethan Williams-Jones - accordion, piano, vocals and champion step dancer. Nominated in 2007 for the coveted Bryn Terfel Scholarship

Llinos Eleri Jones - learned her craft from the traditional players in Wales giving Calan that magical ingredient - the sound of the Welsh harp

Angharad Sian Jenkins – is not only folk player. Her talents are also being sought out by rock bands and singer songwriters. She recently toured Ireland, Holland and Brittany

Chris Evans (Chris ab Alun) - brings a mixture of traditional rhythms and a hint swing guitar to give the over all sound and racy feel.


Track Listing:
01.Y Jigiau (The Jigs)
02.Rhif Wyth (Number Eights)
03.Set Y Golomen (The Pigeon)
04.Blodau'r Flwyddyn (Flowers Of The Year)
05.Calan
06.Pibddawns Arfordir Ffrainc (Coast Of France)
07.Y Gog Lwydlas (The Grey Cuckoo)
08.Manamanamwnci (Manamanamonkey)
09.Deio I Dywyn (Deio Went To Tywyn)
10.Alawon O Ganada (Canadian Tunes)
11.Y Pibddawnsiau (The Hornpipes)
12.Calan (Bonus Track Including Bass And Drums)
13.Rhif Wyth (Bonus Track Including Bass And Drums)
14.Y Gog Lwydlas (Bonus Track Including Bass And Drums)

Quality: >160 Kbps
Downlink
Password:highqualitymp3

2009年9月22日星期二

The Barra MacNeils - The Barra MacNeils (1986) @192Kbps




Track Listing:
01. Playhouse Medley (Eating Bonnach/ Drowsy Maggie/ Drunken Landlady)
02. No More Good Times
03. One For Jeffy (Lovat's Restoration/ Jig Of Slurs/ Angela Cameron/ Mrs. George Johnston Of Byker)
04. The Marquis Of Huntly's Snuff Mill
05. Three Reels (Trad/ Trad/ Jenny Picking Cockles)
06. Willie C.
07. Trip To Sligo
08. Highland Queen/ Sweeps Hornpipe/ Trad Hornpipe/ Devil And The Dirk
09. Proud Spirit

Quality: 192 Kbps
Downlink
Password:highqualitymp3

The Barra MacNeils - Timeframe (1990) @192Kbps




Track Listing:
01. Banks Of The Roses
02. Flow Time
03. Didn't Hear The Train
04. Flower Basket Medley
05. Song For Peace
06. Isle Of my Dreams
07. Looking Back
08. Row Row Row 5
09. Ian Hardie Set
10. My Heart's In The Highlands

Quality: 192 Kbps
Downlink
Password:highqualitymp3

The Barra MacNeils - Closer To Paradise (1993) @192Kbps




Track Listing:
01. We Celebrate
02. Darling Be Home Soon
03. When I'm Away From You
04. Closer To Paradise
05. Chase The Man
06. Dancing We Would Go
07. In The Wink Of An Eye
08. Frostbite
09. Caledonia
10. Jigs: The Dusty Windowsill/ The O'Keeffe's Of Dublin
11. Mo Nighean Dubh (My Black Haired Girl)
12. Am pige Ruadh (Mouth Music)

Quality: 192 Kbps
Downlink
Password:highqualitymp3

The Barra MacNeils - The Question (1995) @192Kbps




Track Listing:
01. Myopic
02. Seallaibh Curaidh Eoghainn
03. The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan
04. Going Down The Road
05. Oh My
06. She The Ocean
07. 17
08. Turquoise Shoes
09. The Question
10. Falling
11. Part Of Me
12. All Or Nothing
13. Goin' Back

Quality: 192 Kbps
Downlink
Password:highqualitymp3

The Barra MacNeils - Timespan (1997) @192Kbps




Track Listing:
01. Row Row Row
02. Flower Basket/ George White's Favourite/ Foxhunters
03. Lone Harper
04. My Heart's In The Highlands
05. Darlene Mackenzie's Wedding/ Otter's Nest/ Caberfeidh
06. Song For Peace
07. Coaltown Road
08. Willie Coleman/ Brown Ale/ Inchindown Jig
09. Standing By The Subway
10. Eating Bonnach/ Drowsy Maggie/ Drunken Landlady
11. One For Jeffy
12. Beautiful Point Aconi

Quality: 192 Kbps
Downlink
Password:highqualitymp3

The Barra MacNeils - The Christmas Album (1999) @192Kbps




Track Listing:
01. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
02. Children's Winter
03. Carol Of The Bells
04. Ann Am Baile Ri'oghail Dhaibhidh (Once In David's Royal City)
05. Singing In The Streets
06. Christmas Comes But Once A Year (Christmas In Carrick)
07. Christmas In Killarney
08. Snowplow Set
09. O Holy Night
10. Galician Carol
11. O' Come Divine Messiah
12. Taladh Chriosda (Christ Child Lullaby)
13. Party In Washabuckt
14. Auld Lang Syne

Quality: 192 Kbps
Downlink
Password:highqualitymp3

The Barra MacNeils - Racket In The Attic (2000) @128Kbps




Track Listing:
01. Don't Call Me Early
02. Rattlin' Roarin' Willie
03. Second Hand News
04. Longest Day
05. Queen Of Argyle
06. Misty Moisty Morning
07. By Northern Light
08. Everytime
09. Racket In The Attic
10. Come High, Come Low
11. Nancy O
12. Tullochgorum

Quality: 128 Kbps
Downlink
Password:highqualitymp3

2009年9月6日星期日

Aidan O'Rourke - Sirius (2006) @320Kbps



About the musician:

One of the UK’s most expressive and dynamic musicians, Aidan O'Rourke is a fiddle player and composer from Oban on the West Coast of Scotland. He is a member of BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winning trio, Lau and supergroup Blazin’ Fiddles and was recently voted ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ at the Scots Traditional Music Awards.

A composer of flair and imagination, Aidan O'Rourke’s melodies have been recorded by many established artists and he has been commissioned by numerous arts organisations including the Dundee Rep Theatre, Folkworks in Tyneside and Tolbooth in Stirling, where he is the current musician-in-residence. Last year he made vital compositional and performing contributions to two new creative collectives. The first is Parallelogram, a genre-defying, beautifully anomalous nucleus of creative sound, which also features his Lau band mates Martin Green and Kris Drever in addition to Pete Wareham (Acoustic Ladyland) and Flook's Brian Finnegan (whistles/flute), John Blease (Drums) and Oli Hayhurst (Bass). The second is Cascade, a project that features Aidan alongside Andy Sheppard (saxophones), Sheema Mukherjee (sitar), Simon Thoumire (concertina) and Kuljit Bhamra (tabla/percussion) - musicians with international reputations for cross-genre and improvisatory work. Both of these collectives premiered at the South Bank Centre in London in the autumn of 2006 and were performed throughout 2007.

Other recent commissions include: Encore – a project involving some of the UK’s finest young musicians which toured extensively as the opening act for Blazin’ Fiddles and has been recorded for CD; Mantra Alba which featured the children of Dunfermline and welcomed the Dalai Lama to Scotland in 2004 and Sirius a work for 13-piece band that was commissioned by Celtic Connections New Voices series. Aidan’s musical style and expression is evident in this vast work which incorporates a wide variety of musical styles from ultra-traditional folk to jazz, roots and groove. The band featured some of Europe's top jazz and traditional musicians including Harald Haugaard, Charlie McKerron, Brian Finnegan, Colin Steele, Luke Daniels and Phil Bancroft and has not only been released on CD, but was chosen for performance by the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music (Odense, Denmark) as an example of how different musical genres can work together.

Aidan is much sought after as a teacher and session musician and has performed on over 80 albums, ranging from Runrig to Karine Polwart and Karen Mathieson. Always one who is keen to diversify, he has been a featured soloist in Donald Shaw’s spectacular “Harvest” concert and he also made his acting debut as a helmsman from Barra in the Highland Festivals theatre production The Seven Hunters.

In addition to his ongoing work with Lau and Blazin’ Fiddles, Aidan is also a member of the Colin Steele's Stramash and appears occasionally with Karine Polwart and Scotland's unofficial folk orchestra, The Unusual Suspects.


About the album:

This music was originally commissioned by Celtic Connections Festival in 2003 as part of the New Voices series. A lovely full-sounding album of great themes and gorgeous playing.

Aidan writes.." Burning the brightest star in the sky, Sirius has been used for centuries as a key navigational tool for travellers. As a travelling musician it is often difficult to appreciate what you are experiencing on the road. The people I meet and the places I visit often merge together as a tour progresses. In writing this music I took the time to reflect on my experiences and to appreciate the people, the places and the many adventures. I've been travelling and touring since I was 15, which is half my life. In the midst of these journeys , one thing has remained constant: Sirius. To me, Sirius represents home.


Track Listing:
01.Falun Fine (outbound)
02.Bah Hamburg
03.Mangersla Beach
04.Lochaber Drive
05.The Santa Cruz Redwoods
06.Hinba
07.People’s Park
08.People’s Park (part 2)
09.Alyth
10.Falun Fine (return)

Musicians:
Aidan O’Rourke – fiddle
Harald Haugaard – fiddle
Charlie McKerron – fiddle
Gordon Gunn – fiddle
Luke Daniels – melodeon
Brian Finnegan – flute, whistles
Phil Bancroft – tenor saxophone (soprano sax on track 3)
Fraser Fifield – soprano saxophone
Colin Steele – trumpet
Marc Clement – guitar
Foss Paterson – piano
Ewan Vernal – double bass
Mattie Foulds - drums

Quality: 320 Kbps
Downlink

2009年9月3日星期四

Arthur Cormack - Nuair Bha Mi Og (1984) @192Kbps



In 1983 at the National Mod in Motherwell Arthur Cormack, from the Isle of Skye, won the Gold Medal, the premier award for Gaelic singing. At 18 years of age he was one of the youngest ever to win this medal. This record demonstrates the fact that the Gaelic tradition is alive and flourishing in the hands of a young performer who not only loves and respects the songs, old and new, but also stamps his own character and enthusiasm on them.

"I find this album quite simply a delight to listen to ... this album is a remarkable and proud achievement." WEST HIGHLAND FREE PRESS
"This album is one of the biggest, pleasantest surprises of 1984 ... a right little gem." TAPLAS
" ... an absolutely incredible album by one of the best singers I have ever heard." FOLKS ON


Track Listing:
01.Failte Don Eilean Sgiathanach (Hail To The Isle Of Skye)
02.An T-Aodann Ban (Edinbaine)
03.Nuair Bha Mi Og (When I Was Young)
04.Puirt A Beul (Mouth Music)
05.Gruagach Og An Fhuilt Bhain (The Young Fair-Haired Maiden)
06.S E Mo Bheachd Ort A Bhais (My Opinions Of You, Death)
07.Thoir Mo Shoraidh Thar An T-Saile (Convey My Farewell Across The Sea)
08.Gillean Ghleann-Dai (The Sons Of Glendale)
09.Eilean A Cheo (The Misty Isle)
10.Carn Air A Mhonadh (The Cairn On The Moor)
11.Cumha Alasdair Dhuinn (Lament For Brown-Haired Alisdair)
12.Ho Ro Illean Na Bithemaid Tursach (Ho Ro Boys Lets Not Be Sad)
13.Mo Nighean Donn Nan Gobhar (My Brown-Haired Goat-Herder)
14.An Gaol A Thug Mi Og (The Love Of My Young Days
15.Nach Gorach Mi Gad Chaoineadh (How Foolish Of Me To Cry For You)
16.Oran Eile Air An Aobhar Cheudna (Another Song On The Same Theme)
17.Mo Ghaol An Te Nach Diobair Mi (My Love Who Would Not Forsake Me)

Quality: 192 Kbps
Downlink

Arthur Cormack - Ruith Na Gaoith (1992) @192Kbps



This is Arthur Cormack's 2nd CD. His singing has a beautiful musical quality, his diction is impeccable with a richness of Skye sounds and one becomes caught up in whatever he is representing. Such is the earnestness and sincerity of his style.

Track Listing:
01.Ruith Na Gaoith (Chasing The Wind)
02.O Mhairi E Mhairi (O Mary)
03.S Mor Mo Churam S Mi Ga Stiuireadh (Great Is My Sorrow As I Steer The Boat)
04.S Truagh Nach Do Dh Fhuirich Mi Tioram Air Tir (What I Pity I Never Stayed On Dry Land)
05.Tionndaidh Am Bat (Turn The Boat)
06.A Choille Ghruamach (The Gloomy Forest)
07.Gad Chuimhneachadh (Remembering You)
08.Gradh Geal Mo Chridh (Fair Love Of My Heart)
09.Oran An T-Saighdear (The Soldiers Song)
10.Mairi Ruadh A Dannsa An Nochd (Red-Haired Mary Will Be Dancing Tonight)
11.A Nigheanag A Ghraidh (My Beloved Girl)
12.Fhir A Shiubhlas Na Frithe (A Culloden Lament)
13.Loch Na H-Ob (Loch Na H-Ob)
14.An Cluinn Thu Mi Mo Nighean Donn (Do You Hear Me My Brown-Haired Girl)

Quality: 192 Kbps
Downlink